The Zombie Chronicles - Book 3 - Deadly City (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) (12 page)

Nick and Kate wrestled her to the ground, and I held the vial over her mouth. “I’m so sorry, Jackie. Please forgive me.”

She snapped at me as I let the drop fall.

I watched her white eyes close, and then I laid her next to Val and Claire. I yanked off my class ring and slipped it gently onto her finger, though I wasn’t sure why. I guess I wanted her to have something from me. I vowed that one day, I would find her loved ones and tell them what had happened and how brave she had been through it all. I’d only known her a short time, but she had touched my heart in a way I could never explain. I imagined her smiling down from heaven, with a radiant light surrounding her, and I remembered our kiss.
“Goodbye, Jackie,” I said softly as I turned my back on her, wishing I’d had a chance to give her, Claire, and Val a proper burial. It didn’t matter though. I was pretty sure I’d be with them soon. I wanted to stay strong, but I didn’t want to delude myself either.

“
That’s it!” Lucas yelled. “We got ‘em all.”

“
Unless they send more,” Nick said.

I hoped not. I looked at the crowd of zombies I’d just euthanized, and something caught my eye. A leg twitched, and an arm moved, and then there was a
hiss
. One stood, and my jaw dropped. Others soon started to follow.

I shot Nick and Lucas a look. “It didn’t kill them! It just put them out for a few minutes,” I said as I backed away from the rising dead.

Nick let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t believe it!”

“
No way!” Lucas yelled in anger and disbelief. “No freaking way, man!”

“
Well, ladies and gentlemen, it looks like their little plan backfired,” said the announcer. “I have to admit, this show gets better by the minute.”

If Nick hadn’t run out of bullets, I’d have grabbed the gun and shot that idiot right between the eyes.

“
I really hate that guy,” Kate said.

Slowly, the zombies shuffled toward us, and I knew we’d have to take them down again. Though we were beyond exhaustion, we weren’t going to give the sick crowd the satisfaction of watching us surrender. I grabbed the long bone from the ground and swung it in the air. I wasn’t going to go down without one last fight. As the growing horde shuffled closer, I felt terror like I’d never felt before. We’d never fought so many coming at us at the same exact time. For every one we took down, ten others seemed to come behind it. There was no winning the fight. It was the Alamo, and
I was its Davy Crockett.

As they shuffled closer, I suddenly felt my brother’s hand take my own. Nick sucked in a deep breath, then slowly let it out as he turned to me and spoke softly, “Dean…” he said.

“
Yeah?”

“
Fight ‘em off the best you can and know that I’m always proud of you, no matter what. I love you, man.”

“
Right back at ya,” I said, trying to keep my voice from wavering.

“
You’re a great friend,” Lucas said, “and you’re also one heck of a fighter. I’m not givin’ up or nothin’. I just wanted to tell you that.”

I glanced back at him. “I’m your brother now, and you’re mine. And you know what? Brothers never give up on each other. I’ll see you on the other side, Lucas.”

Kate grabbed my other hand and held it tightly. She didn’t say a word. Droplets of sweat rolled down her ghost-white face. I knew she was in complete shock, and I couldn’t blame her. We were living the stuff of nightmares, right there in living color, the very real stench of very real death seeping up our nostrils.

The crowd roared as the announcer’s voice crackled across the speakers again. “Well, folks, it looks like they’re cornered. This is how we dole out justice in Kingsville! Now these murderers will get just what they deserve.”

The closest one drew near, and Kate kicked its stomach as she pulled the zombie’s legs out from under it. It fell back into the field with a
thud
.

The zombies inched closer, hissing and moaning. I lifted the femur above my head and prepared myself for what was to come. I could feel my body shaking, especially as I met Jackie’s gaze. I stared into her white, cold, lifeless eyes. Her arms were outstretched, long, dead fingernails coming to slice me open. I shuddered at the thought. But then, it seemed as though the white in her eyes began to darken.
What…wait! Are her eyes turning back to brown?
I blinked at the sight before me, and tried to understand what I was seeing.

“
Nick! Lucas!” I shouted. “Look at Jackie’s eyes.”

“
They’re turning back into people!” Kate shouted. “What was that stuff you gave them?”

I threw down the bone, awe-stricken.

Kate turned to hug me. “We’re not gonna die after all!” she said, excitement flooding her voice. She then turned and jumped into Lucas’s arms.

He spun her around, letting out shouts of joy.

My gaze drifted back to my beloved. It was then that Jackie’s lips parted, and instead of a howl or a snarl, all that came out was, “Dean?”

A thousand white-hot sparks seemed to suddenly swim into my vision. I felt myself becoming too light on my feet and feared I was about to pass out. Her skin still looked pale and mottled like a zombie’s, but I recognized that spark in her beautiful
brown
eyes.
Did she really just say my name?
I couldn’t believe it.
“Jackie!” I ran to her and gasped in amazement as her skin cleared up and returned to its natural color, right before my eyes.

“
Dean,” she whispered in a soft voice, “wh-where am I?”

“
You’re… I just… It’s hard to explain, but you’re okay, Jackie. You’re okay!” I hugged her as tightly as I could. A great flurry of emotions ran through me, much different and not dark like the ones I’d felt just moments before. This time, there was happiness, excitement, and pure joy washing through me, illuminating every corner of my jaded mind with a new sense of hope.

She squeezed me back just as tightly and melted into my embrace. Nobody could have asked for a better miracle.
“The last thing I remember is getting stabbed,” she said. “I died, didn’t I? I turned into one of those…those things.”

I held her at arms’ length. “You did, but I gave you the cure.”

“
Who are all these people?” she asked, looking around.

“
Cured zombies,” I said.

I turned and began to laugh hysterically. The army of greenish-hued, scabbed-over beings were all regaining their natural pigmentation. Their cold, lifeless eyes had morphed into orbs of confusion, but they were filled with life again. Some stumbled around in a daze, some hugged each other and wept, and others collapsed. Some were too far gone, too injured, and died on the spot. My heart went out to them as cries echoed through the air and loved ones hugged their limp bodies. Even though it was sad, most of the people had been cured. They’d been left for dead, destined to live out the remainder of their existence as flesh-craving, mindless zombies, but the cure changed everything. One drop had resurrected them from the dead and given them hope—a second chance at life.

“
Dean, this is incredible,” Jackie said. “We’ve gotta find a way to get this cure manufactured. We’ve got to tell the world!”

I smiled. “That’s the plan,” I said. When I saw Val searching through the crowd, I waved her over.

Her eyes lit up as she approached.
“Lucas told me! He told me everything! Thank you!” Val cried as she embraced me in a painfully tight hug.

I felt myself grinning so wide that the corners of my mouth ached. It was the miracle we’d all been praying for—not just for Val, but for all mankind. There was still hope in that dead world. We could finally end the virus once and for all. I couldn’t wait to find my mom and tell her that Val was alive, and we could be a family again. My mom’s last wish, when she thought she was dying of cancer, was that Val could be part of her life. She regretted giving her up. I always knew there was emptiness in her heart, and now I understood, but we would never have to be apart again. Val was my blood sister, and I couldn’t have been more proud to have her in my life. “It’s
so good to see you smiling again,” I said, smirking like an idiot. I’d never been so happy, but then reality came crashing back in on me.

It wasn’t over. The townspeople still demanded their revenge. I looked up into the stands at the stunned spectators, their mouths hanging open.

The speakers screeched, and then the mayor’s voice boomed, “We’ve come to a conclusion, folks. The zombies are not monsters, but victims of this horrible scourge. We’re thrilled they’re cured. We will delay the execution of Lucas Meadows and Dean and Nick Walters until we figure out how these criminals got their hands on the cure.”

“
What?” Val asked. “What’s going on?”

“
Long story,” Nick said, “but at least these maniacs are giving us a few more days.”

“
We’re a town built on honor and morals,” the mayor lied. “We’d like all of the cured to first meet with our doctor to tend to your wounds, and then you are all free to go your own way. Please go in peace. I want to thank all the great people of this town for attending this historical event. This will be a day we’ll never forget, for this is the day I found the cure! God bless America!”

The crowd cheered endlessly as the mayor strutted around, waving his hands in unwarranted victory. The crowd didn’t notice as the armed guards handcuffed us at gunpoint and led us off the field.

Kate screamed for our release, but her shouts fell on deaf ears.

Chapter 13

As they herded us along, a policeman barked orders for the girls to be put in a cell in the women’s section. Val was viewed as guilty by association, and Jackie and Claire were classified as coconspirators and scheduled for execution with us. They clearly had no interest in giving the girls their own separate trial and allowed our verdict to be shared with them as well.

Lucas, Nick, and I were thrown back into the same jail cell. We hadn’t even had a chance to make ourselves at home in the miserable jail before Tahoe showed up.

I thought maybe I could reason with him, assuming the weasel had any shred of a human conscience.

“
Congratulations on finding the cure,” he said.

“
It wasn’t me,” I said. “A scientist, a brilliant doctor, came up with it, back at Kelleys Island, where I was living.” I stepped closer. “They better not hurt the girls.” I gripped the bars and met Tahoe’s gaze. “You owe them, man. You said so yourself. They saved your life back on that dark, deserted road. If you don’t wanna help us, at least help them. Get Jackie, Val, and Claire out of Kingsville.”

“
Nice speech, Dean.”

I wanted to pound him so bad. “You owe them, Tahoe!” I shouted. “Go tell your dad, the chief of police, how they dressed your wounds, gave you antibiotics, and saved your sorry butt.”

“
I will, but don’t worry. The ladies are fine.” His eyes mirrored frustration, and his lips were set in a grim line. “What I need right now are those vials.”

Gripping the bars, I shot him a venomous look. “So do we! We can’t leave that bag in the hands of a madman, can we?”

“
It’s no secret that I despise you,” Tahoe said to my brother. “If it weren’t for Claire and Jackie, you would’ve left me lying on the side of the road bleeding. I stood no chance in that kind of condition against zombies.”

“
What goes around comes around. You helped Earl try to kill Val, and I’m not one to play good Samaritan to a murderer. It’s as simple as that.”

“
Is that what you tell yourself so you can sleep at night? That I didn’t deserve your help?” Tahoe met my brother’s gaze straight on. “How
do
you sleep at night, Nick?”

“
You should ask yourself that same question,” Nick retorted.